The Red Shoes by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures

Last night I went to see Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes at Norwich Theatre Royal. I had to brave the theatre alone last night (#sadface), however I still had a lovely time. This was my first ever ballet and I think I was treated to something quite special. I haven’t ever not wanted to go to the ballet, it’s just never really materialised. The closest I have gotten would most probably be seeing Billy Elliott in the West End, but I don’t think that really counts if I’m honest. Although I say alone, I had the lovely Jane Claridge, theatre’s General Manager, come join me for the performance and it was great to have a chat with her about the show, upcoming productions, her role in the theatre and the temperature (typical British haha!). For me the ballet is something completely new, I like talking and especially singing on stage. So this took a bit of getting used to for me but I have to say I think I could manage it again. It was strange though watching a whole production with a few grunts and no actual verbatim language; it’s all about the dance in the ballet.

The New Adventures (Bourne’s ballet company) premiered The Red Shoes in London in December 2016 before venturing out on tour in 2017. It is based on the 1948 film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger of the same name (itself based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tale of the same name).  Now this is all very new to me but I think the story is about a love triangle between Boris, Victoria and Julian. The Red shoes feature and when worn the wearer cannot stop dancing. The story tells us how they meet and develop feelings for each other and how this transpires during their careers on the stage. If I have got this wrong I am so sorry, but I liked what I saw either way.

I absolutely loved my ballet experience. I have to say I preferred the second act compared to the first, it had more drama and I was able to follow the characters storylines much better. I was always going to be drawn to the music of The Red Shoes, and Bourne has used the musical magical work of the late but great Bernard Herrmann. The music is the storyteller through the whole show and without it I wouldn’t have had a clue to what was going on. From emotional love, to terror, to anxiety and fright, Herrmann has the ability to bring out any emotion of the dancer and transferabley (made up word) of the audience with the art of his compositions. Bourne directs and choreographs his Red Shoes and oh my god I have to say it is some of the best choreography I have ever seen. As like Herrmann, Bourne is able to tell a story through nothing else but dance, love between young lovers, hate between enemies, anxiety about the future and the build-up of tension was fantastic. Bourne’s ability to create all this on stage is phenomenal and I cannot wait to see more of his work. For me the funniest and most entertaining part of the production was the dancing Egyptians, hilarious and the two dancers had me giggling in my seat, as with the rest of the audience. The love scene towards the end of Act 2 and the dramatic finale was also wonderful and I could feel my emotions spiralling as I watched this emerges all over the stage.

Lez Brotherston designs the set and costume; I have to say I was overwhelmed and in love with his set. I have mentioned on my blog before I love how a set can create a stage on a stage, switching from the front to backstage. Well Brotherston design of this has to be the best I have seen. The curtain seamlessly floats around on the stage; it creates mystery for the audience and for me feels like its own character on stage. It forms the central piece of the whole show and without it the production would not be half as good as it is. Paule Constable, lighting designer, has a big job on her hands. To add to the emotional presence of each dancer with her colleagues doing so well on the choreography and composing arenas, however she does not let us down.

Our leading cast for the evening consisted of Sam Archer as Boris and Dominic North as Julian; two men who fall in love with Victoria (played by Ashley Shaw). Both the males were fabulous but for me, Shaw steals the show (and she gets to wear the red ballet shoes - lucky). Her ability to convey so much meaning through her dance and ballet is beautiful. To create the feelings I had solely from her dance without singing and speech, she completely fulfilled her job and some yesterday.  Liam Mower plays Ivan; Mower was one of the original Billy Elliott’s, later re-joining the show as older Billy. It is wonderful that Mower has maintained his career in the theatre and ballet; he is a real treat to watch. At some points, particularly the opening of Act 2, I could not keep my eyes off him, a fantastic visually pleasing performance with priceless facial expressions. Michela Meazza plays Irina and again she is a formidable dancer on that stage and beautiful to watch. The rest of the cast are just as equally entertaining and skilled in their ballet. I have tried a few times to stand on my toes however it has caused one broken lamp and a bruised big toe so I am going to leave it up to this wonderful New Adventures cast to entertain Norwich and the rest of the country during their tour.

Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes is a wonderful ballet. I am so pleased this was my first ballet and I hope this is the start of many; at this rate I am going to have to change the name of my blog to theatre addict HAHA! I have heard from my fellow audience members who gave one of the longest applauses I have heard at the Theatre Royal in Norwich that Bourne’s work never disappoints. If you are a ballet fan you need to get down to the theatre this week to see it. If you are a novice like me well why not give it a go if you have some money for a ticket and a spare evening this week, you may have a great time just like me. If you are somewhere in between I will leave it up to you to decide. The Red Shoes is at Norwich Theatre Royal until Saturday however all shows (apart from the 2:30 matinee on Saturday) are sold out. I would suggest phoning the Box Office to see if any tickets become available, often they do. Please get in touch on Twitter @AaronBurgess89, I would love to hear from you. Until next week and Mama Mia (so blooming excited) take care.

Thrille Live on Tour, Norwich Theatre Royal

Me and the boyfriend went to the Norwich Theatre Royal on Monday to see the hit production of Thriller Live; A concert show celebrating the music and life of Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5. Adrian Grant who is the executive director and had the original concept of Thriller Live names Jackson as the King of Pop and I think there are millions of others out there who would totally agree with him. The show was developed as a tribute to Jackson’s work and memory and still entertains thousands of people at the West End’s Lyric Theatre. Thriller Live involves over two hours of Michael’s hits with some added verbatim story to his life told by the lead singers. I felt personally that it would be better just to have the singing and dancing and less talk, it often felt out of place, but I can see why people want to celebrate his music. I haven’t got the space to write all of his hits but they are all there (apart from Ben which we wanted to sing so Ben could get on stage and say “it’s me, Ben”). The show is not a musical yet better thought of as a concert stage production. There is no storyline per se so if you are thinking is this the Mama Mia of Michael Jackson then you will be dissatisfied (wait for that in a few weeks at NTR), but that is not at all to say that Thriller live is not worth seeing, it most certainly is.  

Britt Quentin heads the line up as lead vocalist and resident director. Quentin is no stranger to Thriller Live performing all over the world. He is amazing at what he does. He is the ultimate Michael Jackson sound-a-like and when he is on stage it is the next best thing to bringing Jackson back. Joining Quentin on stage is Shaquille Maerice Hemmans another fantastic vocalist. I regarded Hemmans as the camp quality to this production of Thriller Live (which is not bad thing). He is great on stage and great to watch. Rory Taylor is the rock element to the production and he looks so familiar I have no idea why though; a great solo artist. Sean Christopher joins these three guys on stage as the Michael dance-a-like, although he also sings I didn’t realise this as I thought he was only a dancer. He had some great moves and the theatre auditorium erupted when he moonwalked across our very own Norfolk stage. The female lead vocalist on stage was Vicky Pasion, teacher turned stage phenomena. She was fantastic and her voice was beautiful. The remaining cast, classed as dancers, were all very energetic and put 110% into all their routines, very classy.

We all know I love a band on stage and although hidden through most of the set they do appear occasionally and the guitarists come out to say hi at some points. They were absolutely fantastic and Jackson’s classic pop songs are musically crafted by this great band. Directed and choreographed by Gary Lloyd he has one difficult job recreating some of the classic and monumental dance routines made famous by Jackson. And do not worry you will get your Thriller dance although I hope they chill out with the smoke machines in future shows as it was difficult to see anything at one point. I think there was also some Janet Jackson dance routines creeping in which isn’t a bad thing either. You can tell he has worked very hard to take Thriller Live on tour and ensure it is just as good as a London performance. Produced by Paul Walden and Derek Nicol, Jonathan Park creates this set concert on stage. The set, yet simple and basic, is effective. The only thing I struggled with was when the main singer is at the side or on the stairs, it can be difficult to see and you just want to see them sing. I would personally want the main singer central. The lighting around the stage is very much like a mini concert, thanks to Nigel Catmur, but sometimes the lighting designs were a bit mystifying, maybe they were paying homage to Michael’s music videos but the pyramids and various other scenes created were not always so clear as to why. Costumes in Thriller Live are fabulous, even if a bit revealing (I had to cover Ben’s eyes at one point when the males were topless!). Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum from Shooting Flowers created these outfits, and there were a lot of tight gold crotches so be warned!

Thriller Live is the perfect night out for a Michael Jackson fan, but then I guess if you are a massive fan you would have already seen this show either in London or its previous visit to the Norwich Theatre Royal. Even if you are not a fan it is a really great, energetic and fun night out. Even if you are not the biggest Jackson fan I am sure you will have fun at Thriller Live, we certainly did, one a Jackson fan, the other not. The best bit for us was getting up and having a boogie with the cast (not on stage of course, we would most probably have been thrown out). Twice the audience are encouraged to get up from their seats and dance along to the Jackson classics. From the young to the more elderly members of the audience everyone was up and getting fully involved dancing, clapping and a bit of hip twisting, it was so much fun (Ben even broke into a sweat). It really is a great night out this week. Thriller Live is at Norwich Theatre Royal every night this week at 7:30pm (8pm on Friday) with a matinee performance at 2:30pm (currently sold out) on the Saturday and an early evening showing (5pm) on the Friday. Tickets are very limited so make sure to get yours while you still can. And yes I have been trying to moonwalk since Monday with a near-miss yesterday so be careful if you are going to moonwalk your way down to the Norwich Theatre Royal this week. Please get in touch on Twitter @AaronBurgess89.

Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society presents The Witches of Eastwick

So on Tuesday night myself and Nanny Cora had a little soiree at the Norwich Theatre Royal to see the annual Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society’s (NNOS) production, this year being The Witches of Eastwick. Now usually I wouldn’t write a review of an amateur production but because the NNOS were so good and it was far from amateur in my eyes I have decided to share my evening with you all, albeit a tad late so I apologise about that; but as they say in Fairy-tale Land, better late than never (they might not actually say that, but, oh well). I am not familiar with the NNOS work, this is the first time I have seen one of their productions but I tell thee now this will definitely not be my last visit to see the NNOS. I am aware they only do their one mayor production at the beginning of each year at the Theatre Royal but I saw in the programme they are doing Monty Python’s Spamalot in May at the Norwich Playhouse so that will be interesting too. I am also not familiar with the musical Witches of Eastwick, I have heard about it of course and heard the odd song but that is all; so this was a night of many firsts for me.

The Witches of Eastwick is firstly based on the 1984 novel by John Updike which later transformed into the 1987 film with a star studied cast of Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cher (love Cher) and Susan Sarandon. I have to share a little secret with you all now, I have never seen the film – how embarrassing to admit – so I do not know if it is a musical or just a film. Anyhow all this was transformed into a stage musical in 2000 thanks to the great Cameron Mackintosh. With book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana Rowe the score is fun but not something that has stayed in my ear like some musicals. Dirty Laundry is a catchy beat and Dance with the Devil was a fun number to watch but apart from that not much else has stuck.

The cast of the NNOS were fabulous and the thing I loved the most (usually with any amateur performance I see) is how much fun you can see every single person on stage having. The time and effort each cast (and crew) member puts into a performance is fantastic and all their personal time given up over the weeks and months beforehand preparing for the show and rehearsing. A huge huge huge round of applause from me to all of them is due. The president of the NNOS, Helen Mcdermott (who I have only just been able to Google who I remember from Anglia TV as a child haha!) is president of this esteemed society and I would love to join (however my singing and dancing are appalling – I am sure there is a musical about a young handsome man who couldn’t sing and dance – I can star in that J).

The three beautiful ladies (I wouldn’t dare call them witches) are played by Claire Chandler portraying Alexandra, Andrea Ferguson as Sukie and Kathryn White as Jane. Chandler is so sassy on stage she was fabulous, she reminded me of someone but I don’t know who. She had a lovely voice and you could tell she liked playing the mumsy one. I fell in love with White’s performance, she reminded me of Sierra Boggess (you should know who she is musical theatre addicts but if you don’t google her – beautiful lady). Nanny Cora loved Ferguson, she was tiny yet powerful, she had some great scenes and funny songs and I think for me she was my favourite character. The devil in disguise, Daryl Van Horne, was played by Terry Boast. I liked Boast’s performance he definitely had great stage presence but I did feel he was trying to be Nicholson (and I haven’t even seen the film lol!). Other characters who stood out for me were definitely Harriet Chambers playing the village busy body (everyone has one), Felicia. Alisha Hart plays the Little Girl, she had a lovely voice and for no fault of her own I didn’t really understand her character though. Joshua Gould played the butler Fidel and he received an amazing reaction from the audience he was so subtly funny was great.

The NNOS put on a really good show and I was so impressed with their professional approach to musical theatre. As I said before I will definitely be visiting this society again, next year they have announced they will be doing Top Hat, another favourite of Nanny Cora’s so I guess I will be taking her there in 2018. The NNOS put so much time and effort into their costumes and staging (I always wondered if they buy new clothes or the actors just wear some of their own, this is why I need to get into amateur dramatics to answer all these unanswered questions). I can tell that they have spent ages planning, rehearsing and that everyone on stage is putting so much effort into their performance. The leading ladies and guys deserve a standing ovation; Nanny Cora said to me you would think this was a touring production and not a group of Norfolk folk on stage (no offence to the Norfolk people I am one of you). TheNNOS and The Witches of Eastwick end their time at the Theatre Royal for another year today with two performances – best of luck to all involved. I cannot wait to come next year and see Top Hat and Spamalot later in the year.